Who Should I Choose
by The Azure Guardian
Summary: After winning the Sinnoh Championships, Ash returns home to Pallet for a celebration. But now Ash faces a new problem. He must choose which girl, between Misty, May and Dawn, he wants to spend the rest of his life with. Who'll he pick? Rated T for safety
1. Ash's Predicament

A/N: This is my first fanfic, so I don't expect it to be good, though I hope anyone who reads it will enjoy it. I do not own Pokémon or any of the characters or places mentioned. If I did then the series would've died after the first episode.

Ages:

Ash: 17

Misty: 19

May: 16

Dawn: 15

Brock: 24

* * *

–Chapter 1: Ash's Predicament–

After having won the Sinnoh League Championships, Ash was now back home in Pallet Town, where a party was being held for his victory. All of his friends were there, including Misty, Gary, Tracey, May, Max, and the others who had traveled with him and made friends with on his journeys. However, there was one thing on Ash's mind after he got back home and saw Misty, May and Dawn in the same room talking to each other.

'_They're all so beautiful. I really wish there was a way for me to choose,_' Ash thought to himself.

Pikachu then jumped onto Ash's lap as the boy sat on a chair, just looking at the three girls he had traveled with.

"Pika?" the small electric mouse spoke as it tilted its head at its trainer.

Ash just looked down at his Pokémon and pets the mouse's head.

"I'm fine, Pikachu. Just a bit confused as what to do right now," Ash said to his best friend.

Ash then looked just up at Misty, May and Dawn, who were still talking and laughing, apparently about when they were adventuring with Ash.

"What's wrong, Ash?" the trainer heard someone ask.

Ash turned to see the source of the voice was Brock.

"Nothing," Ash said, hoping his friend wouldn't find out what Ash was thinking.

Unfortunately for Ash, Brock's been paying attention since the start of their journey.

"You're thinking about the girls, aren't you," Brock said quietly to Ash, making sure the girls wouldn't hear anything.

Ash just nodded.

"I can see that being a problem. All three of them are beautiful," Brock said, making Ash's face turn a little red.

"But I wish there was a way for me to choose," Ash said quietly.

"Hang on. How about we talk about it outside so no one can listen in," Brock suggested.

"Sure. If anyone else hears I'd probably never hear the end of it," Ash said, agreeing to Brock's suggestion.

Ash then stood up and both he and Brock walked outside.

"I can see how you're having trouble picking one of them, Ash," Brock said.

"Really? How can you tell?" Ash asked.

"Each of them has a quality that you like. Take Misty for example. She's traveled with us the longest, through Kanto and Johto. So you practically know each other like the back of your hands," Brock stated.

"That's true. We do know each other fairly well," Ash said as he crossed his arms and started to think.

"And as for Dawn, her personality is quite similar to yours if you think about it," Brock said.

"How so?" Ash asked, tilting his head.

"Well, you both care for Pokémon and, in case you haven't noticed, the both of you can be a bit stubborn at times," Brock explained.

"I guess," Ash said as he thought about what Brock just said. "And what about May?"

"Well, it should be obvious even for you Ash. She more developed than most other girls for her age," Brock answered, causing Ash's face to turn red.

"Aside from that, Brock," Ash said, almost yelling at Brock, but remembered he didn't want to draw attention from the others in the house.

"What about her determination? Though she probably picked it up from you since you've always been determined to win the title of Pokémon Master," Brock stated.

"That's true. But those still don't help me choose," Ash said as he looked up at the night sky.

"Well, try being alone with each of them on different days. Hang out with them and get to know them more, especially with Misty and May since you haven't really seen them in a long time," Brock suggested.

"Alright. Thanks Brock," Ash agreed.

"No problem, man. You're like a brother to me, so I'll always help you when I can," Brock said.

Ash just nodded and the two friends walked back into the house. After a few more hours, most of the guests were starting to leave. But Misty, May and Dawn decided to stay so they could talk a bit more, though Misty and May wanted to talk with Ash and ask how things had been since he last saw the two of them. But before they had the chance to talk with him, Ash's mom had told them they should get to bed, since the trip to Pallet was a long one, especially for Ash, Dawn and Brock. Everyone agreed with her and headed for bed. Ash went to his room, which was kept exactly as it had been when he left for Sinnoh and the three girls shared the guest room, causing Brock to sleep on the couch in the living room.

'_Okay. Tomorrow I'll spend time with Misty first since I've known her the longest. But what should I do? Guess I'll figure that one out in the morning,_' Ash thought to himself before going to bed.

* * *

I know it's rather short, but I couldn't really think of anything else to add in. The girl Ash chooses will remain a mystery until the last chapter, which will most likely be Chapter 5 since I don't expect this fanfic to be very long.

Please R&R


	2. A Misty Day

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon. If I did, I doubt even the first episode would be aired.**

**A/N: Alright, so the name of this chapter may not make sense, but I couldn't think of anything good. I gave it the name because Ash spends time with Misty, so there is a bit of PokéShipping involved. Also, this chapter is about 4 times longer than the first chapter only because I had a lot of stuff to put in about Ash and Misty. The next chapter might be just as long, but that has yet to be thought out.**

* * *

-Chapter 2: A Misty Day-

The following morning, Ash was the first one to wake up. Wait… Ash was the first to wake up? Holy crap! It's a sign of the apocalypse! Oh, hang on. Never mind, it's just a fanfiction. Anyway, Ash headed downstairs after waking up and getting dressed and he got himself a bowl of cereal to eat as he started to think about what to do for the day with Misty.

'_Let's see. I know girls like to do a lot of shopping, but Misty's a tough girl. Maybe we should try looking for Pokémon battles,_' Ash thought to himself, but then hit himself in the head. '_No, not today. I'm trying to spend time with Misty, not look for a fight. Guess I'll take her around town first and see what she wants to do._'

Not long after, Brock woke up from the couch. He got up and walked towards the kitchen when he saw Ash sitting at the table having breakfast.

"What the? Did I really sleep that late?" Brock wondered.

"No Brock, you're the second one up," Ash answered.

"I see. The second one… What the?! You were the first one up?!" Brock questioned, thinking something was wrong if Ash was up first.

"Calm down Brock. Geez, is it really that odd to see me wake up first?" Ash asked.

"Well yeah. Considering that on every journey you'd always be the last one to wake up," Brock said.

"Yeah well, I'm going to be the first one up for the next two days as well," Ash told his friend.

"Why's that?" Brock asked.

"Don't you remember what we talked about last night outside the house? I'm going to spend some time with Misty, May and Dawn. So I need to be up early to think about what we're going to do for the day," Ash answered.

"I see. So who are you going with today?" Brock asked.

"I'll spend time with Misty first. I've known her the longest and she was the first one to join in our adventures," Ash said.

"That's true and I guess that's a good enough reason," Brock said.

"Oh, but one thing," Ash continued.

"What is it?" Brock asked.

"Think you could look after my Pokémon for me when I go with Misty? I don't want to take them with me because then I might end up looking for a battle. So I won't be taking them with me for today or the next two days," Ash asked.

"Sure thing. But wait, even Pikachu?" Brock asked.

"Even Pikachu," Ash answered.

And as if on cue, Pikachu ran down the stairs after finding out Ash wasn't in his bed. Once the little mouse made it to the kitchen, its eyes were wide in shock that Ash was up so early.

"Not you too," Ash said as he looked at his best friend.

"Pika pi?" Pikachu asked.

"Sorry buddy, but you'll be staying here with Brock and the others today," Ash told his Pokémon.

A few minutes passed and Delia, Misty, May, and Dawn were up and also headed downstairs. One by one they were shocked to see Ash awake before them only to receive blank stares from the trainer. After everyone else ate, they started to engage in other activities, like the three girls were starting off from their last night's conversation while Brock and Delia were washing the dishes. Ash just stood there looking at Misty, but the girls didn't seem to notice him looking at her. After building up the courage, Ash walked over to the red-head.

"Um, Misty? Could I talk to you for a few minutes?" Ash asked her.

All three girls looked up at Ash.

"What is it, Ash?" Misty asked,

"I just have something I'd like to ask you," Ash said.

The three girls looked at each other and their faces turned a light red, thinking that Ash was going to confess something to her.

"Sure thing, Ash," Misty agreed.

The red-headed gym leader got up from where she was sitting and both she and Ash walked outside.

"What is it you wanted to ask, Ash?" Misty asked.

"Misty, would you like to spend the day with me walking around town for a bit?" Ash asked.

Misty tilted her head a bit, puzzled by Ash's strange – strange to her – request.

"That's not like you, Ash. Do you just want someone to walk around with you to cheer you on as you look for battles?" Misty asked, a little angry.

"No, that's not it. We haven't seen each other for a while so I just want to hang out with you today. I'm leaving my Pokémon here for Brock to look after to make sure I don't get into a battle when I'm with you," Ash answered.

Misty started to blush.

'_Ash wants to spend time with _me_?_' the red-head thought to herself.

"I'll understand if you don't want to, Misty. After all, we've already been on several adventures together, through Kanto, the Orange Islands, and even Johto. But the reason why I'm asking this is because I want to know what you've been up to while I was in Hoenn and Sinnoh," Ash said.

Misty crossed her arms and gave Ash an "I'm very angry with you right now" look. Ash flinched upon seeing that look, but then Misty smiled.

"Sure. It'll be great to catch up and find out what I've been missing," Misty said.

Ash put a hand on his chest and let out a sigh of relief.

"So, where were you planning on going?" Misty asked.

"Actually, I was going to leave that up to you, Misty," Ash said, causing Misty to blush.

"Well, what all is there to do around here?" Misty asked.

The girl hadn't been to Pallet Town in years, so forgot a few good hang-out spots.

"Well, we do have a small beach, though it's kind of connected to the docks. After all, the boat from here goes directly to Cinnabar," Ash said.

"Oh right, I completely forgot," Misty said, a little down that she forgot a lot of things from her friend's hometown.

"It's okay, Misty. You've been busy with the gym I assume, so you couldn't of had much of a chance to come here," Ash said.

"Thanks, Ash," Misty said as she cheered up a bit.

"There are several food places and stores to do some shopping. I really think that's about it," Ash said.

"You _think_?" Misty asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Remember, I haven't been home in a long time either," Ash said, scratching the back of his head.

"It's alright, Ash. I'm just joking around," Misty said with a giggle.

"So then, where do you want to go first?" Ash asked.

"Well, why don't we head to the beach?" Misty asked.

"Sure. I know how much you love the water," Ash agreed.

The two of them then headed for the beach. Brock watched the two walking off from the window while Delia, May and Dawn were busy with other things.

"_Good luck, Ash. Just try not to get Misty angry. Remember what she used to do when that happened,_" Brock thought to himself.

Upon arriving at the beach, Misty just stared at the open waters.

"Oh wow. It's beautiful," Misty said.

"_Not as beautiful as you. But it's a shame I still have two others to choose from as well. This sucks,_" Ash thought to himself.

"Hey Ash, why don't we go for a swim?" Misty asked.

"Sure. And I'll go rent a beach ball or something," Ash said.

"Great idea. I'll be right back," Misty said as she ran to a nearby change room. Ash went to the men's change room and quickly got on a pair of swim shorts. He then walked out and went over to a beach stand that rented out stuff like beach balls, tubes, and other stuff. Ash paid to rent a beach ball and then walked over to the beach as he waited for Misty. It wasn't that long of a wait as the red-headed girl walked out of the change room wearing a bikini. The two of them looked at each other and just stood there.

"_Whoa. I haven't seen Misty in a bikini in a long time. Her figure's great,_" Ash thought to himself.

"_Oh my. I didn't think Ash had muscles like that,_" Misty thought to herself as she looked at Ash's arms which were more muscular, considering that he was a bit scrawny when she traveled with him.

After a while, Misty was the one to break the silence between them.

"Let's get in the water, Ash," Misty said as she made a run for the water.

As soon as Misty got in the water, Ash lifted up the beach ball.

"Heads up, Mist!" Ash shouted as he threw the ball to her.

Misty turned around when she heard Ash call her "Mist" and then caught the ball, though she was more focused on Ash calling her "Mist".

'Mist_? He's never called me that before,_' Misty thought to herself as she started to blush lightly.

Ash then got into the water and swam near Misty.

"Hey Misty, you okay?" Ash asked.

"I'm fine," she answered.

"You sure? Your face is a little red," Ash said, noticing her blush, but thinking she was either starting to get sick or was getting a sunburn.

"It's nothing. Really," Misty said.

"Okay then," Ash said, not wanting to make Misty angry for fear of her mallet, though he wondered where she'd pull it from now anyway, but he didn't want to get hit later on.

After a few hours of playing with the beach ball and the Water-Type Pokémon, Ash and Misty left the beach to get dried off, dressed back into their clothes, and Ash gave back the beach ball to the rental shack. When Ash walked back to where Misty was waiting, he finally noticed what she was wearing. The same yellow t-shirt, blue jean shorts, and red suspenders that she wore when she used to travel with him. Misty saw Ash staring at her.

"What is it, Ash?" Misty asked.

"Nothing," Ash said, finally coming to his senses.

"Whatever. But I'm starting to get a little hungry," Misty said as she put a hand on her stomach when it growled a bit.

"Well, how about some ice cream?" Ash suggested.

"Sure. Know where we can get some?" Misty asked.

"Of course. And I'll even pay for you," Ash said.

"Do you even have enough money?" Misty asked.

"Yeah. I got quite a bit of money for winning the Sinnoh League, so it's no problem," Ash answered.

Ash then led Misty to an ice cream shop. Misty decided to sit down and rest while Ash went up to get their ice cream.

'_Alright, let's see here. What was Misty's favorite ice cream again?_' Ash thought to himself as he looked at the ice cream choices and started to think. '_Oh right, now I remember._'

Ash then walked up to the register.

"Two Pistachio ice creams, please," Ash ordered.

"Sure thing," the man at the cash register said.

After getting the ice cream and paying for it, Ash sat at the table where Misty was sitting and gave her one of the ice cream cones. Misty's eyes widened.

"Pistachio? How did you know I liked Pistachio ice cream?" Misty asked.

"Back when we were in Alto Mare, I remember you saying something about hoping the ice cream store had Pistachio. So I figured it was a flavor you liked," Ash said.

"Thank you, Ash," Misty said as she blushed again.

Misty then saw also got a Pistachio ice cream.

"Ash, why did you get the same as me?" Misty asked out of curiosity.

"I wanted to try the flavor you liked, and it tastes good," Ash said as he licked some of the ice cream.

Misty's faced turned a little pink as she also started to eat her ice cream. Once they finished, they left the ice cream store and started to wander around a bit.

"Let's see… I'm not sure what else there is to do around here. Sorry if it's a little boring, Misty," Ash said.

"No, no. It's okay," Misty said.

The two of them then walked by the Pokémon Center of Pallet Town when a Chansey walked out. It spotted Ash and grabbed his arm.

"Whoa, what the?" Ash wondered.

"Chansey chans chans chansey," the Chansey spoke and pointed to the doors of the Pokémon Center.

"I think it wants you to go inside, Ash," Misty figured, the Chansey nodding at Misty's guess.

"Really? But why? I don't have any Pokémon in there," Ash said.

"Maybe you have a package or something. Someone probably knew what town you lived in, but not your house and so dropped it off at the Pokémon Center," Misty guessed.

"Well, I guess it's worth going in to see," Ash said.

The Chansey led the two trainers to the front desk and Nurse Joy looked up at them.

"Hello Ash," Nurse Joy said.

"Um, hi. Chansey just led us in here, so I'm guessing there must be something here for me?" Ash asked.

"Yes, a box arrived for you not that long ago. Though it's a bit odd," Nurse Joy admitted.

"Odd? How so?" Ash pondered.

"Here, maybe you can make more sense out of it," Nurse Joy said as she reached under the desk, pulled out a medium-sized box, and handed it to Ash.

"Now let's see here," Ash said as he took the box.

Ash then saw a note attached to the box and took it off and started to read it.

"Dear Sir Ash Ketchum, enclosed in this box is the very costume you wore during the Pokémon Battle Competition which is held every year in Sir Aaron's honor here at Cameron Palace. I am sending it to you thinking it would have better use in your possession. Sincerely, Princess Ilene of Cameron Palace," Ash read aloud.

"Hm? What's that about, Ash?" Misty asked.

Ash's eyes were just widened after he read the note. He slowly opened the box and looked at its contents. A smile steadily grew on the young trainer's face. He then looked up at Nurse Joy.

"Would it be alright if I borrowed a room for a change of clothes?" Ash asked.

"Yes you may. One second and I'll get you a key," Nurse Joy said as she walked away from the counter.

"Ash? What is it?" Misty asked.

"It's a costume I wore a while back for a Pokémon tournament held here in Kanto while I was taking on the Battle Frontier. The hostess of the competition sent it here thinking it would be a good idea if I kept it," Ash explained.

"Can I see?" Misty asked.

"Sure. That's what I got the room for. But you won't see it until I have it on," Ash said to Misty in a teasing way.

Nurse Joy then returned with a key.

"Here you go. The room is up the stairs and it's the third door on the left," Nurse Joy said as she handed Ash the key.

"Thank you, Nurse Joy," Ash said as he took the keys.

Ash then grabbed the box after closing it and went upstairs to the room, Misty following behind him. Ash opened the door and went in. Misty was about to go in as well when Ash stopped her.

"I'm going to be changing, Misty. So of course you can't come in," Ash said, causing Misty to blush a bit when she was about to enter.

"Sorry Ash, I guess my mind just wandered a bit," Misty apologized.

"It's okay, Misty. But I'll let you know when I'm changed," Ash said.

Misty just nodded as Ash closed the door and Misty stood in the hallway. A few minutes passed when Ash finally spoke up from inside the room.

"Alright Misty, you can come in," Ash said.

"Why don't you just come out?" Misty asked.

"Otherwise I won't be able to get into a good pose," Ash complained.

Misty let out a sigh as she grabbed the doorknob and opened the door. Her eyes widened at what Ash was wearing, and not so much at his pose.

"What do you think, Misty?" Ash asked as he stood in a heroic pose wearing the Sir Aaron costume he had worn back at the Cameron Palace Pokémon Competition.

'_Oh wow. He looks really good in that,_' Misty thought to herself as her face turned a darker pink, though more of a red color.

"Misty? You okay?" Ash asked after not hearing a response from his friend.

"Huh? Oh, yeah. I'm fine," Misty said as she focused herself from staring at Ash.

"You sure? You've been acting a little off today," Ash said.

"I said I'm fine, Ash," Misty said, getting a little angry, causing Ash to back up a bit.

"Okay, okay. I'm sorry," Ash said defensively.

"Well, now what?" Misty asked.

"Why don't we walk around a bit more?" Ash suggested.

"With you in that?" Misty asked.

"Why not? I don't see a problem with it," Ash said.

"Alright then," Misty said with a quiet sigh.

Ash then picked up the box, which held his regular clothes, and both he and Misty left the room. They went back downstairs to the counter where Ash asked for Nurse Joy to watch the box and that he'd pick it up again later. The two trainers then left the Pokémon Center and started to chat, mostly just catching up. When Misty asked Ash what he'd been up to during Hoenn, the Battle Frontier, and Sinnoh, Ash told her just about everything, including the Cameron Palace Pokémon Tournament and the talking Lucario, but left out information about the King of Pokélantis, thinking that Misty would freak out if she knew he had been possessed.

"And while I was in Sinnoh, after battling Maylene and her Lucario and saving the Riolu from Pokémon Hunter J, I remembered that the Lucario we helped back while I was going around in the Battle Frontier said I had a large amount of Aura. So before nightfall, I'd actually sneak away for a while and practice using it. Not to brag or anything, but I've gotten fairly good," Ash said.

"Is that so?" Misty asked, though a bit skeptical that Ash could use Aura.

"I could show you a bit if you want," Ash said.

"Sure, I wouldn't want to miss this," Misty said, thinking Ash was just making this up to impress her.

"Alright then," Ash said as he stopped walking.

He then held out his arms as Misty watched her friend try to make an idiot of himself, or so she thought.

"The Aura is with me," Ash said calmly and quietly.

The orbs on the gloves started to glow a bit and a blue sphere appeared in front of Ash's hands. Misty's eyes widened in shock and disbelief.

"Wh-what the?" Misty questioned as she watched her friend create a blue sphere.

"I can do more than this, but I don't want to wear myself out," Ash said.

He then relaxed himself and the sphere faded.

"Wear yourself out? What do you mean?" Misty asked.

"Well, I did say I can control my Aura a bit. But I can't fully control it. If I exert too much, I'll just get really tired," Ash answered.

Ash then looked at the sky and the sun was still high up.

"Man, we still have a lot of time to kill," Ash said, a bit irritated.

"What? Don't you like hanging out with me?" Misty asked, a bit annoyed at what Ash had just said.

"No, it's not that. I just thought we used up a lot more time than we actually did. Looks like we need to find some other stuff to do," Ash said.

"Like what?" Misty asked.

"That's just the thing. I'm not really sure. I guess this place is a little boring for you," Ash said.

"No, it's not boring. I had a lot of fun. But I do wish there was something else we could do for the rest of the day," Misty said.

Just then, someone walked up to the two trainers. He seemed like a stage performer, or at least someone that worked with a theater.

"Excuse me, but could I trouble you two for a moment?" the man asked.

"Uh, sure. What is it?" Ash asked.

"You see, I'm the director of a small traveling theater. We're about to put on a play in this town, but two of our actors were badly injured and can't perform. Would you two be interested in being in a play?" the man asked.

"What roles do you need?" Misty asked.

"They're the lead roles. A princess and a knight," the man answered.

Misty started to think about it.

"The knight doesn't wear armor, does he?" Ash asked.

"No, he's more of a personal knight who protects the princess directly," the man said, then he examined the costume Ash was still wearing. "That's a perfect costume! Much better than what we already had."

"Well, what do you think, Misty? Wanna give it a try?" Ash asked.

"Sure. It'll be a good way to make the time go by," Misty said.

"Thank you so much," the man said. "Now just follow me and I can give you your lines to practice."

The man then led the two trainers to the theater's trailer. Once inside, the man gave Ash and Misty their scripts. The two of them then practiced their lines until they got the emotions in the voices that the man wanted, then they acted out some of their scenes until they got the poses that the man liked. The man then introduced Ash and Misty to the rest of the cast. Misty was then called to put on her costume, so she went to the change room while Ash waited with the other members of the cast. When Misty walked out of the change room, Ash just stared at her as his faced turned slightly red. She was wearing a beautiful, though somewhat coincidental, cerulean-colored dress with a tiara in her hair, which was let down. Misty saw Ash staring at her and also blushed a bit. The stage director then called the cast to get ready to go on stage. The cast went on the stage every time it was their turn and did a magnificent job, though Ash and Misty blushed at each other a bit when they did a scene together. Aside from that, the play went perfectly and the crowd cheered **(A/N: please forgive me, I suck at planning a lot of stuff and I didn't want to make the chapter too long)**. When it was over and the cast went back to the trailer to change back into their normal clothes, with the exception of Ash, the stage director mentioned a Pokémon competition to show off ones Pokémon and that this little contest would be held during the next two days.

'_Well that's convenient. At least that gives me something to do with May and Dawn,_' Ash thought to himself.

The boy then looked up at the sky and saw the sun was starting to set.

"Wow. That definitely took a while. I didn't think it lasted that long," Ash said.

"Maybe it's because you were having fun," Misty said.

"What about you? Did you find it fun?" Ash asked.

"It was very fun. And I wouldn't mind doing it again sometime," Misty said and then blushed slightly at her own words.

"I guess it's time to head back home," Ash said and the two of them started walking towards Ash's house when he suddenly stopped. "Oh man, I almost forgot."

"What is it, Ash?" Misty asked.

"I still need to grab my clothes from the Pokémon Center," Ash answered.

Misty let out a sigh, but quietly laughed when she did. The two of them then ran to the Pokémon Center. After a few minutes, they walked back out and Ash was in his regular clothes again, carrying the box which contained his costume. They then went back to Ash's house and went inside.

"Well that was really fun," Misty said.

"Yeah, it was," Ash agreed.

"I'm glad you asked me to spend the day with you, Ash," Misty said as her face turned a light pink.

"I'm glad you enjoyed it, and I liked hanging out with you as well," Ash said.

Brock then poked his head around the corner from the kitchen.

"Just in time you two. I just finished making dinner," Brock said.

It was then that Ash and Misty realized they went the whole day eating nothing but one ice cream cone each and their stomachs growled loudly once Brock mentioned dinner. After dinner, everyone went to bed in the same rooms they were in last time, though May and Dawn were asking Misty questions about what she and Ash did for the whole day. The three girls went to sleep not long after.

'_Okay, so that went really well. But now I have to spend tomorrow with May. At least the contest thing will be going on, so there's something she'll like. Then that leaves Dawn for the day after that. I know both like to shop. I somehow feel like I'm going to regret this one,'_ Ash thought to himself before falling asleep.

* * *

**A/N: So this is what happened in the chapter. Sorry if I didn't explain too much or if I got some stuff wrong about Misty, but I'm not much of a PokéShipper and I haven't seen any of the older episodes lately since it's nearly impossible to find them on DVD or anywhere else for that matter. So as mentioned in the last line of the chapter, Ash WILL be spending time with May, so there will be AdvanceShipping and thus there will also be PearlShipping in the chapter after that (chapter 4). Who Ash picks will remain a secret until the last chapter (most likely chapter 5) and I don't care who you readers vote for (not to be mean or rude or anything) but the ending has indeed already been decided as to who Ash will be with, so I don't want any whining or complaining in the last chapter about "Ash should be with Misty since he has known her the longest" or "Oh, but Ash should've been with May because she's hot" or even "Ash should be with Dawn because Dawn is so cute". My decision will be final, so to any of you PokéShipping, AdvanceShipping, or PearlShipping fans, please don't get mad or upset if I didn't pick the pairings you like.**

**Please R&R**


	3. May Flowers

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon.**

**A/N: Alright, here's the third chapter of my fanfic, this time with AdvanceShipping. Again, with the title, I didn't really put any thought into it. I just took the old saying "April Shower Bring May Flowers", and since Ash was spending time with May, well... you get the idea. There is no giving-of-flowers in this chapter, so the title might be worse than it seems when I picked it. Anyway, on another note, I have received a review mentioning that Ash and Misty were out of character in Chapter 2 "A Misty Day". However, all readers should take into account that the characters ARE older than they really are in the series, as I have stated back in Chapter 1. And since they're older, it's almost a given that the characters would be somewhat more mature and thus out of character from their anime counter-parts.**

* * *

-Chapter 3: May Flowers-

The following morning, Ash was once again the first to wake up. He quickly got dressed and then headed down into the kitchen to get himself some breakfast. Brock woke up short after hearing sounds coming from the kitchen and got up to look, only to have a completely surprised look on his face again.

"Ash? What the heck?" Brock questioned.

"Not again, Brock. I thought I already told you yesterday what I was going to do," Ash said, giving his friend a blank stare.

"Oh, right," Brock said.

The eldest of Ash's friends stood up and walked into the kitchen to get himself some breakfast as well.

"So who are you going to spend time with today?" Brock asked.

"I think I'll spend time with May. After all, the last time we saw her was during the Wallace Cup Pokémon Contest back in Sinnoh," Ash answered.

"That's true. It has been a while since we've seen her. So, what do you have planned?" Brock asked.

"Well, while I was hanging out with Misty yesterday, I overheard something about some kind of Pokémon contest that's going to be held today and tomorrow. So I'm sure May will want to take part in it," Ash said, though didn't mention that he and Misty were in a play together, for fear his friend might assume Ash already picked to be with Misty.

"I see. That's a good idea. We both know how much May loves Pokémon Contests," Brock said.

"Yeah, and since it'll be here tomorrow as well, I think I'll do the same thing with Dawn," Ash stated.

"It is true they both like Pokémon Contests. But Ash, I'm going to give you some advice right now. Going to that contest twice might not exactly be a good idea," Brock warned his friend.

"Huh? Why not?" Ash asked, curious about the warning.

"Well, if you're going to go to it with May today, you may get bored with it tomorrow when you go with Dawn. If she sees how bored you are, she might think you don't like spending time with her," Brock answered.

Ash just simply froze. He hadn't thought of that. Sure, he'd enjoy seeing May take part in it today, but tomorrow with Dawn is another story. Since he would've seen it already the previous day, there would be a chance Ash would get bored when it's Dawn's turn. Then what would she think of him?

"Just think carefully about what you're going to do, Ash," Brock said.

"Yeah. Thanks for the advice, Brock," Ash said.

Brock just nodded. Then the two of them could hear the others starting to wake up, so Ash calmed himself down and continued to eat his breakfast. Again, when Delia, May and Dawn walked down into the kitchen and saw Ash up already, they were in complete disbelief, only to get the same blank stares from Ash that he gave them yesterday. But this time, when Misty came downstairs and saw Ash, she blushed slightly, remembering from yesterday and Ash's face turned slightly red as well, but quickly shook it off. When everyone was done eating, Brock and Delia started cleaning the dishes. But this time, May and Dawn were asking Misty what she did with Ash yesterday. Ash just sat in a chair and watched the three girls talk. He knew he couldn't approach May while Misty was there or she might think he really didn't like spending time with her the day before. Luckily for him, Misty got up to go use the bathroom. Ash took this opportunity to walk up to May, who was still talking with Dawn.

"May, could I talk to you for a few minutes?" Ash asked.

Both May and Dawn looked at Ash and then at each other, tilting their heads and wondering if it was about what happened yesterday with Misty.

"Of course, Ash," May said.

The brunette stood up and Ash led her outside, just as he did with Misty the day before. Once outside, the two just stared at each other a bit. May was still wearing her green and orange outfit from when she went to Sinnoh for the Wallace Cup.

"What is it, Ash? Is something wrong?" May asked, a bit worried that something may have gone wrong yesterday.

"No, nothing's wrong. It's just that… I was wondering if you'd like to spend the day with me," Ash asked.

May was a bit shocked at this. Did he really not like being with Misty yesterday? Or _did_ something go wrong and he just doesn't want her to worry about it?

"May? Are you feeling alright?" Ash asked when the brunette didn't answer.

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine," May said as she regained her composure. "But mind if I ask why?"

"Why I want you to spend the day with me?" Ash asked.

May just nodded.

"Well, we haven't seen each other since the Wallace Cup in Sinnoh. And I'd like to know what you've been up to from when you first left for Johto up until you went to Sinnoh and then from after you left for Johto again after the Wallace Cup until now," Ash said.

"I see," May said. '_Is this what he did with Misty yesterday? Just hang out? I guess that's not so bad. But I do wonder what Ash is planning with this, spending time with both Misty and me. Is he planning on hanging out with Dawn, too?_'

"May?" Ash asked.

"What?" May asked, startled by Ash.

"You still didn't answer my question. Would you like to spend the day with me?" Ash asked again.

"Sure, of course I would," May finally answered.

Ash let out a sigh of relief, but in truth was just a little irritated. There were times in which May had her head in the clouds, but then again he shouldn't be one to speak. But this really would be the only time to see if May might or might not be the girl he really wanted to be with.

"So do you have anything planned, Ash?" May asked.

"Actually, I do have a little something planned," Ash answered.

"What is it?" May asked.

"It's a Pokémon contest. I overheard it yesterday when Misty and I were hanging out. I thought it would be something you'd like to do," Ash said.

Hearing this, May's eyes enlarged and started to sparkle a bit. Ash took a small step back, knowing what was about to come next.

"A Pokémon Contest? Here? I can't wait! Oh, but I won't have any time to practice. What if I mess up? If only I'd known about it sooner I could've prepared better," May started to rant.

"May, calm down!" Ash had to yell over May's ranting so she could hear him.

May stopped instantly.

"I'm sorry, Ash," May said, a little upset that she provoked Ash to yell at her.

"It's okay, May. You'll be fine. Besides, it's not an official Pokémon Contest. It's just for fun," Ash said as he patted May's shoulders to give her a little confidence.

"Thanks Ash," May said as she smiled.

"Don't worry about it. Now then, shall we get going? Oh, but first, do you have your Pokémon with you?" Ash asked.

"Yeah, I hardly go anywhere without them," May said, but then noticed something was missing. "Ash? Where's Pikachu?"

"I'm having Brock look after him and my other Pokémon. After all, I want to make sure we have fun. So I left them here so I don't start looking for a battle," Ash answered.

"I see. Alright then, let's get going," May said as she started to walk off.

A small smile appeared on Ash's face as he followed behind May. The brunette may be obsessed with Pokémon Contests, but as Brock said, she probably got it from Ash since he's always been obsessed with becoming a Pokémon Master. May then turned around to face Ash as she walked backwards.

"So Ash, how have things been in Sinnoh after the Wallace Cup?" May asked.

"They've been great. Both Turtig and Chimchar evolved into Grotle and Monferno respectively, Gligar evolved into a Gliscor and Staravia evolved into a Staraptor. Paul is still as much of a jerk as always, treating his Pokémon like dirt," Ash said, though spat out what he said about Paul.

"Well I'm glad your Pokémon evolved and things are going so well for you, Ash. But that Paul sounds like such a bad trainer," May said.

May had never met Paul, so she didn't really know him, though Ash practically hit the nail on the head.

"I actually think that's an understatement. I beginning to wonder why isn't banned from being a Pokémon Trainer," Ash said.

"I actually don't think it can be done, Ash," May said.

"Really? I heard from Misty that, a few years back when you and I were travelling together in Hoenn, Misty was challenged by three guys for a Gym battle and were banned from any official Pokémon battles," Ash said remembering what Misty told him.

"Maybe it's just because that's how he trains them. He isn't exactly breaking any rules," May said, which was true.

"I guess you're right," Ash said.

After minutes of walking, Ash and May arrived at the spot where the contest was being held. Ash slightly blushed as he remembered being in the play from Misty yesterday, but quickly shook it off so May wouldn't notice it.

'_What the heck am I doing? I'm trying to spend time with May today to see if she's the one I want to be with. But I guess doing the play was a bit embarrassing for both Misty and me. After all, we were giving the lead roles after all,_' Ash though to himself.

A man then walked up to Ash and May. Ash recognized the man as the play director from yesterday, but thankfully for Ash, the man didn't recognize Ash since the raven-haired boy wasn't wearing the costume.

"Hello there, are you two interested in signing up for the Pokémon Contest today?" the man asked.

"I am," May answered cheerfully.

"Nah, I left my Pokémon at home. Besides, I think I have more fun watching them than taking part," Ash said.

"Alright then, I'll just need you to sign your name here," the man said as he held out a clipboard with some sheets of paper that had a few people already signed up for the contest.

"Whoa, I didn't think anyone would be up earlier than this to enter the contest," Ash said as he saw that the first sheet of paper was alright three-quarters full of names.

"Some people think it's better for them to register early and get some extra practice without worrying about being late for signing up. Not that it really matters. There are no ribbons for this contest, it's just for fun. So there's no pressure," the man said as he handed a pen to May.

May then signed her name onto the list and gave the pen back to the director.

"Thank you. We'll be starting in two hours, so if you feel the need to prepare yourself or just relax before the contest, you can go right ahead," the man said.

"Thank you very much," May said as she bowed.

She and Ash then walked away from the director and the stage.

"So May, what Pokémon are you going to use?" Ash asked.

"I'm not really sure. Since it's just for fun, I think I might use Skitty, Beautifly, Wartortle or Glaceon. Venasuar is way too big for the stage," May said.

"You're right. Venasaur wouldn't be a wise choice for a stage like that," Ash chuckled a bit, causing May to giggle. "So are you going to get in some practice or what do you wanna do?"

"Well, we do have two hours. I'll try to decide who I'm going to use for the contest. But in the meantime, what do you say we go for a bit of shopping?" May asked.

Ash figured this would happened and sweatdropped.

"Okay, but you can't really get too many things. I didn't get enough money from the Sinnoh League to buy a bunch of expensive things," Ash said. '_Plus something tells me I may need to save some money for Dawn tomorrow in case she wants to go do some shopping._'

"You don't think I'm that bad when it comes to shopping, do you?" May asked, though with a tiny, tiny hint of annoyance.

"N-no, of course not. I'm just saying I can't buy a whole lot of things. Remember, I need the money for myself as well," Ash said as he waved his arms defensively.

"Don't worry, I'm only teasing," May said as she giggled and stuck out her tongue.

Ash sweatdropped a bit at May's actions.

'_Sometimes her humor scares me a little. But then again, what's life without a little adventure?_' Ash thought to himself.

May then grabbed Ash's wrist and dragged him to the nearest store, where she looked at everything and her eyes got all big and sparkly at all the jewelry and beautiful clothes and dresses. Ash just followed her, not really saying anything since he wasn't that big on shopping, much less when it came to shopping for women's clothing. Since Ash followed May everywhere, every time he walked past the girl's undergarments, he'd turn his head to look away and slightly blush. May picked out a few things to buy, making sure not to go overboard since Ash was somewhat limited for cash, and she took them up to the cash register where Ash bought them for her.

"Thank you so much, Ash. I think these will look great," May said.

"Sure thing, May," Ash said.

Once Ash was done paying for the new stuff May bought, she ended up making him carry them. He didn't really mind though. The two then left the store and started to wander around to town.

"So May, how have things been going in Johto?" Ash asked his brunette friend.

"They've been going okay. Though Harley is still trying to embarrass me in some way or cheat to beat me at contests, though usually by trying to slow me down from getting to the registration desk on time," May answered.

"Speaking of Harley, I still can't really tell whether he's really a guy or a girl by the way he talks. I mean seriously, I think something's really messed up with his head," Ash said as he got a distasteful look on his face, remembering how Harley would usually speak.

May just giggled.

"I'd have to agree with you, Ash. There are moments in which I wonder the same thing. After all, he has a bit of a feminine figure and sometimes he makes his voice sound a bit girly, but it's when he starts yelling that you don't want to question him on it for the rest of the day," May stated.

The two of them continued walking around, talking about what they've been up to and making fun of Harley whenever May mentioned him. Eventually the time came to head back to the stage and get ready for the contest.

"So May, did you decide who you're going to use?" Ash asked.

"Yeah, I've thought about it in my head. I have the perfect Pokémon to use for this," May answered.

"Alright, good luck May," Ash said.

"Thanks, Ash," May said as they walked away from each other, May to get back stage and make some final preparations and Ash went to find an empty seat.

The contest was rather fun to watch. All the contestants used cute, beautiful or small Pokémon due to the size of the stage. Most of the Pokémon consisted of Lopunny, Meowth, Vulpix, Cleffa, Mareep, and others that would fit into either cute, beautiful or small. When it was May's turn, she sent out her beautiful Glaceon, its shining fur coating seemed to shine brighter in the sunlight than it would in any contest hall. Ash cheered for May and her Glaceon as they put on their performance **(A/N: Again, I apologize for not going into detail since I don't want to make the chapter too long and also because I'm not really that good at being very descriptive)** and when the contest ended, it was May who was declared the winner. None of the other contestants were saddened or depressed since they knew it was only for fun to show off their Pokémon. Once everything was done and the other contestants and audience left, Ash and May started to wander around town some more.

"That was an excellent performance, May. And you did a great job at raising your Glaceon since I last saw it," Ash congratulated and applauded her.

"Thank you so much, Ash. But now I'm started to get a little hungry," May said as she put her hand on her growling stomach.

"Yeah, that contest did take a while because of all the contestants and neither of us really got anything to eat beforehand or brought anything to eat for afterwards," Ash said as he put his hand on his growling stomach.

"Think we can find some place to eat?" May asked.

"Sure. But remember, nothing too expensive," Ash answered and reminded her.

"I know, I know," May said, letting out another giggle until her stomach growled again.

The two of them continued to walk, trying to keep their stomach quiet, until they found a restaurant. About an hour or so after, they walked out with full stomachs and then went back to walking around Pallet Town talking about how they've been and strolling down memory lane. Once they were at a silent moment, Ash sort of looked at the ground after an old memory came into his head.

"Hey May," Ash said.

"What is it, Ash?" May asked, looking a bit concerned his Ash was still looking at the ground.

"Do you still miss… _him_… at all?" Ash asked.

May knew exactly who Ash was talking about and a small smile appeared on her face.

"Yeah, I do. I can't believe how long it's been, though. I just hope Manaphy's doing alright," May said as her eyes started to water a bit.

"I'm sure he's fine. He has Kyogre to look after him after all. And you've been an excellent mother figure to him," Ash said to try and comfort her.

"Thank you, Ash," May said as she wiped away the tears in her eyes.

"And if it wasn't for the both of you, I wouldn't be here right now," Ash said.

"Huh? What do you mean?" May asked.

"When I was trying to fix the damage The Phantom did to the Sea Crown, I nearly drowned as I was about to put the last crystal back in. I suddenly heard your voice and knew Manaphy was connecting us. Hearing your voice gave me the strength to keep going," Ash said.

May blushed at Ash's words.

"Thank you, Ash. That's very kind of you," May said.

"No, thank you, May. You were the one who pushed me forward. You were the one who kept me alive," Ash said, causing May to blush some more.

There was a bit of an awkward silence when Ash looked up at the sky and noticed it was starting to get dark.

"Guess we'd better be getting back," Ash said.

May only nodded. The two of them headed back to Ash's home, at which point May took the bags that she made Ash carry and she walked in first followed by Ash. However, when Misty saw them walk in, she looked away in disappointment, think that Ash didn't like hanging out with her yesterday. Ash saw Misty's look but didn't know what to say.

"Alright everyone, dinner's ready," Delia said cheerfully.

Everyone sat at the table and ate their dinner before going to bed. Ash went to his room but felt a bit guilty about not telling Misty that he was going to hang out with May. But if he had, she probably would've bit his head off and assume he didn't like hanging out with her. However, when Misty, May and Dawn went up to the guest room, May saw Misty's expression.

"Misty, what's wrong?" May asked.

"It's nothing…" Misty said.

"Is it because Ash and I were gone for nearly the whole day?" May asked.

Misty stayed quiet, so May took this as a yes. Dawn was actually wondering what the heck was going on since Ash had spent a day each with Misty and May.

"Misty, it's okay. Nothing happened. Ash just wanted to catch up and see how well I was doing in Johto," May said.

Misty looked up at May.

"Yeah. We were only hanging out. We didn't really do anything," May said.

"Hey May, do you know if Ash is going to ask me to hang out with him tomorrow?" Dawn said, somewhat eager to spend a day alone with Ash just as Misty and May have.

"Probably," May said.

"But Dawn, wouldn't you have had plenty of time to hang out with him in Sinnoh?" Misty asked.

"Not really. Either he's been to busy training for his gym battles or I've been to busy training for my contests," Dawn said as she sulked a bit.

"Well, just be ready in case he does ask you," May said.

"You bet," Dawn said with a huge smile.

"But I wonder what he's doing this for. I mean, if he's going to spend time with the three of us, why not do it on just one day with him and the three of us together?" Misty thought aloud.

The three girls started to think about Ash's reason for this.

"Do you think…?" Dawn asked.

Both Misty and May knew what she was going to ask.

"I doubt it. He's always been so dense, so I don't think he'd be capable of something like that," Misty said.

"I don't know. I guess we'll have to wait and see," May said.

The three girls went to bed shortly after. And in Ash's room, the young trainer just laid on his bed.

'_That went well. Though I think I might have upset May when I brought up Manaphy, not that I meant to of course. And Misty seemed really upset for some reason. I hope she didn't get the wrong idea,_' Ash thought to himself as he stared at the ceiling. '_Well, tomorrow I'll be spending time with Dawn. Maybe now I'll get to know why she doesn't like being called "Dee-Dee" and why she doesn't want me to know how she got that nickname. Guess I'll have to wait until tomorrow._'

Ash then fell asleep as he thought about what he and Dawn will do tomorrow.

* * *

**A/N: So here's chapter three, only two chapters left until I'm done. It took a while to upload this chapter since I was having trouble thinking of what to write for the most part. Though the reason why I'm uploading these faster than I probably should is because of one reason: If I don't finish something I'm working on quick, I'll end up forgetting it completely and it'll never be finished. So, as stated, chapter four WILL have PearlShipping. However, I'm thinking of waiting a bit until someone who has seen the 12th Pokémon movie (which features Arceus) could let me in on what happens in the movie so I can use it for Dawn's chapter (In a Private Message, of course. And with as much description/detail as possible). And as for the final chapter (Chapter five), it has still already been decided. So I don't want any complaints about who I picked if it wasn't the girl you wanted Ash to end up with. Though I will give a tiny, _tiny_ hint of what will be on the final chapter... however, I'll wait until I'm done chapter four to give out the hint. Don't want to spoil anything too early.**

**Please R&R**


	4. Darkest Before Dawn

**A/N: Alright, here's chapter 4. The reason I'm uploading it two days after chapter 3 is because I JUST finished it, and I also finished chapter 5 today as well. I know, it may seem like I'm rushing things, but I have a bit of a bad habit when it comes to waiting and patience. However, I will not be uploading chapter 5 today nor tomorrow. I'll upload the next day I have free time, so possibly on Wednesday. If not Wednesday, then on Thursday. So in this chapter, we have a bit of PearlShipping. Oh, and also, forget what I said about needing info on the Arceus movie, because I got what info I wanted to use from a different movie from the Diamond&Pearl series. So anyway, here you go, chapter 4. Just one chapter away from the end and finding out who Ash chooses. And again, the title may not make any sense, but I picked it from the saying "It's always darkest before the dawn" and just used it for the sake of Dawn's name.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon**

* * *

-Chapter 4: Darkest Before Dawn-

The next morning, Ash practically jumped out of his bed and quickly got dressed.

'_This is it. The last day. Then I have to make my decision,_' Ash thought to himself as he let out a sigh. '_Man, this is a lot tougher than any Pokémon battle._'

The young trainer walked out of his room and went down the stairs into the kitchen. But to his surprise, someone was up before him and eating breakfast, and it wasn't Brock.

"Morning, Ash," said the girl sitting at the table.

"D-Dawn? What are you doing up so early?" Ash asked his most recent traveling companion.

"Don't know. I guess I just felt like waking up early. I'm just glad I didn't wake up May or Misty on my way down here," Dawn said with a quiet giggle.

"I'm actually more surprised Brock isn't up yet," Ash said as he scratched the back of his head before getting some breakfast for himself and then joining Dawn at the table.

"So, how was yesterday with May?" Dawn asked.

"Huh?" Ash said as he nearly fell backwards on his chair, not expecting Dawn to ask, let alone even know, that Ash spent the day with May.

"She told me and Misty all about it last night. Well, maybe not everything. Kinda hard to tell when hearing only from one side," Dawn explained.

"I see," Ash said as he steadied himself back on the chair so he wouldn't fall over.

"And it seemed to cheer Misty up a bit too, hearing that all you and May did was hang out," Dawn stated.

'_So that's why she seemed so depressed,_' Ash thought to himself. "Well, I didn't tell Misty that I was going to hang out with May because then she might have thought I didn't like hanging out with her."

"I think Misty understands," Dawn said.

Ash just nodded and the two of them went back to eating their breakfast in silence.

"So are you going to hang out with me today, Ash?" Dawn asked after about 30 seconds of silence, causing Ash to choke of his food.

Ash pounded his fist into his chest until he could breathe properly.

"I guess May told you, huh?" Ash asked.

"Not really, though I thought it was kind of obvious since you hung out with Misty and then May, and we never really got the chance to back in Sinnoh since we were too busy training," Dawn answered.

"That's true, and yeah. I was going to ask if you'd like to hang out for today," Ash said.

Dawn squealed in joy, but kept it quiet so she wouldn't wake the others.

"Though it's a shame you didn't ask me yesterday. I would've loved to take part in the contest that you took May to," Dawn said as she rested her head in her hand.

"Actually, it's still going. They're having it today as well, so I was planning on taking you to it anyway," Ash said.

Dawn let out another quiet squeal.

"Thank you so much, Ash," Dawn said with a huge smile on her face.

Ash smiled back and then the two of them resumed eating. It wasn't long until the others were up. They were no longer surprised that Ash was up so early, but this time they were shocked that Dawn was up before them as well. Ash just chuckled, glad he didn't have to give his blank stares to them again, while Dawn just stuck out her tongue and scratched the back of her head. After everyone was finished their breakfast, Brock and Delia were once again cleaning the dishes. But this time, Misty, May and Dawn were looking at Ash, causing him to sweatdrop and step back a bit.

"W-w-what is it?" Ash asked.

The three girls then just grinned and both Misty and May turned to Dawn.

"It's your turn Dawn," May said to the blue-haired girl.

Dawn squealed again, though it wasn't as embarrassing for Ash as it had been when he walked up to Misty to ask her two days ago, and then had to wait for the red-head to leave before asking May.

"Alright then, let's get going," Ash said.

Dawn just smiled and headed out the door.

"Have fun, Dawn!" Misty yelled out to the girl before the door closed, then she turned her head to Ash. "Now don't do anything stupid."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Ash asked, insulted that Misty would say such a thing after they hung out just two days ago.

Misty and May both just looked at each other and rolled their eyes. Ash just shrugged it off and went out the door to catch up to Dawn.

"Think they'll be okay?" Misty asked her brunette friend.

"Probably, but Dawn seemed a bit hyper after I mentioned that Ash might ask her to hang out today," May answered.

"You're right about that. So now I don't know if we should be worried about Ash doing something stupid or Dawn doing something crazy," Misty said, causing herself and May to laugh.

Dawn stopped about two houses down before she decided to wait for Ash, with a big smile still on her face. When Ash caught up with her, he immediately stopped and just looked at Dawn with her huge smile.

'_Great, now I just have to remember what Brock said yesterday. I just hope nothing goes wrong,_' Ash thought to himself.

"So, where to first?" Dawn asked.

"Let's get you signed up for the contest first and see how much time we'll have until it starts," Ash said.

Dawn practically started jumping for joy, but then stopped and seemed worried.

"Hang on though…" Dawn said as she put one finger under her chin.

"What's wrong, Dawn?" Ash asked.

"I forgot to bring a dress to wear," Dawn said as she started to sulk.

Ash did an anime-style fall, but stood back up soon after. He then gently placed his hands on Dawn's shoulders, not wanting to yell at her and make her feel upset like what happened with May yesterday.

"It's okay, Dawn. You won't need one. The contest is only for fun. It's not an official Pokémon contest and there is no ribbon to be won. It's just to have fun," Ash said calmly to the girl.

Dawn slightly blushed as Ash had his hands on her shoulders and when he spoke so calmly to her.

"Alright Ash, thank you," Dawn said.

Ash then slowly took his hands off Dawn's shoulders.

"Now then, let's go find that stage," Ash said.

Dawn nodded happily and the two of them walked around town to look for the stage. Ash knew where it was, but figured he'd just walk around town with Dawn for a bit just to pass the time and talk about the past, before they met each other. Dawn didn't really mention much aside from what she had already told him back in Sinnoh. But Ash took this opportunity to ask her a serious – serious to him – question.

"So Dawn," Ash started.

"Yeah? What is it?" Dawn asked.

"I'd still like to know why you won't tell me about that nickname Kenny keeps calling you by," Ash told her.

Dawn just stopped in her tracks and her hair seemed to stand on end. Ash turned around and, seeing this, took a step back knowing what was about to happen.

"I'm never going to tell you, Ash! It's too embarrassing!" Dawn yelled at him as her face turned bright red.

"Okay, okay. I'm sorry. I was just wondering if you were ready to talk about it," Ash said defensively, holding his hands up.

"No, Ash. I'll never talk to you about it. Why do you think I keep telling Kenny to stop saying it?" Dawn said.

Ash just looked away from Dawn, to which she let out a sigh.

"I'm sorry, Ash. I shouldn't have exploded like that," Dawn apologized.

"No, you had every right. I'm sorry I asked. It's just been bugging me for a while what the nickname was for and so I thought you'd be ready to talk about it," Ash said.

"It's okay. It's just something really embarrassing for me," Dawn said as she blushed lightly and held her left arm with her right hand.

"Well… what do you say we get going and sign you up for the contest?" Ash asked.

Dawn just smiled and she continued walking with Ash right beside her. Upon reaching they stage, they met with the director again, who recognized Ash this time.

"Oh, hello again," the man greeted.

"Hi," Ash greeted back.

The man then looked over at Dawn.

"Is she going to be signing up for the contest?" the man asked.

"Yes, sir," Dawn said, playfully sticking out her tongue.

The man then handed the clipboard and a pen to Dawn so she could write down her name.

"Say kid, what about that other girl from yesterday? The one with brown hair and the green bandana?" the director asked Ash.

"She figured once was good enough. She needed to relax from official contests for a bit and this one of yours really helped her out," Ash lied.

"I see," the man said, and then took the clipboard and pen back from Dawn once she was done. "Now then, the contest won't be until the late afternoon today. So you'll have plenty of time to come up with any combinations and get in any practice you may need."

'_Late afternoon, huh? That's not so bad. At least it'll give me time to talk with Dawn and forget about May's contest from yesterday for a bit. After all, I don't want to look bored for Dawn's turn,_' Ash thought to himself.

"Well then, let's go walk around for a bit, Ash," Dawn said.

Ash just nodded and the two of them started to walk away from the stage director. They continued to talk about the past, though Ash was the one who did most of the talking since Dawn didn't have very much to say.

"And this one time in Johto, Brock actually almost got married," Ash laughed.

"What?! He was actually about to get married?!" Dawn said in surprise.

"Almost. But it turned out the girl, Temacu, just wanted to know what it was like to marry someone after her cousin got married. At least, I think it was her cousin, I don't quite remember," Ash said.

"So what happened?" Dawn asked.

"Well, she was captured by Team Rocket, though it was by accident since they were trying to get Pikachu and her father's Pokémon. She then seemed to dump Brock immediately and wanted to marry James," Ash answered.

"James from Team Rocket?" Dawn asked.

"The very same. But then it gets a little twisted from there," Ash said.

"How so?" Dawn asked.

"Brock and James, though mostly Brock, were fighting over Temacu. She ended up getting injured and sent to the hospital," Ash answered.

"Oh my. Was she okay?" Dawn asked, worried that Temacu didn't make it.

"She was fine. But when she woke up and saw the doctor, she wanted to marry him instead of Brock or James," Ash answered with a laugh.

"Oh wow, that's actually kinda funny. What did the doctor say?" Dawn asked, laughing.

"He actually agreed to it. That was when Temacu's dad told us why she wanted to get married. It was actually a very weird day for us," Ash answered.

"I'm sure it was," Dawn said.

The two laughed a bit over the thought that Brock actually might have gotten married if Team Rocket had succeeded in grabbing the Pokémon instead of Temacu, then they started to walk in silence until Ash remember one of his previous adventures with Dawn.

"Hey Dawn, do you remember that crazy adventure we had at Alamos Town?" Ash asked.

"You mean with Darkrai, Dialga and Palkia?" Dawn asked.

"Yeah, that one," Ash answered.

"How could I forget? That was probably one of the most dangerous we've ever had. If we didn't get that song disk in the slot on time, we would've completely vanished from existence," Dawn said.

"Yeah," Ash said, but then looked up at the sky as he remembered one event that could've ended in tragedy from that adventure. "But I almost lost you, Dawn."

"Huh?" Dawn asked as she stopped, causing Ash to stop when he didn't hear her footsteps beside his own.

"When you fell out of the balloon. If I reacted any later, I wouldn't have been able to catch you," Ash said.

"Ash…" Dawn said quietly as a light blush appeared on her face.

"But I'm glad I got to you on time," Ash said to her softly.

"Speaking of that, I haven't thanked you properly for saving me then," Dawn said, then she looked up at the raven-haired trainer, still with the light pink blush. "Thank you for saving my life, Ash."

Ash's face then turned slightly red as he shifted his eyes away from Dawn and started scratching the back of his head. The two stood there in an awkward silence until Dawn spoke up.

"Well, should we keep going?" Dawn suggested.

"Y-yeah," Ash said as he shook off the blush that was on his face.

The two of them kept walking until a small store caught Dawn's eye. She ran up to the window and Ash just walked right behind her. Dawn just looked at some of the dresses that were in the window and Ash sweatdropped.

'_Here we go again,_' Ash thought to himself as he remembered from yesterday with May.

"Ash, could you buy a few things for me?" Dawn asked.

"Sure, but not too much. I don't think I have much money left," Ash answered.

"Yeah, May told me about it," Dawn said.

The two of them then walked in and Dawn went right ahead to looking at the dresses. Since the dresses were all that Dawn seemed interested in, Ash wasn't all too worried about being embarrassed about walking past women's undergarments again. Just remembering that when May dragged him along yesterday made him blush a little, but then he started to think if May was doing that on purpose just to mess with him.

'_Nah, she wouldn't do that,_' Ash thought to himself, but then started to have second thoughts. '_Would she?_'

Dawn grabbed two dresses that she really liked and walked up to Ash.

"Could you buy these for me, Ash?" Dawn asked.

"Sure. I said I would, didn't I?" Ash answered.

Dawn lightly squealed so that no one else in the store would look at them weirdly. Dawn took the dresses to the cash register and Ash paid for them, taking the bag. The two then left and their stomach started to growl a bit. They'd been walking and talking for quite a while and it wasn't until after Dawn was done her shopping that she started feeling hungry, but so was Ash.

"Want to go get something to eat?" Ash suggested.

"Yeah. I don't think I'd be able to do well in the contest on an empty stomach," Dawn agreed.

The two of them then walked over to a small restaurant and got some food. While they were waiting for it, Ash looked at Dawn.

"So who are you thinking of using for the contest?" Ash asked.

"Well, I think I might use Ambipom. But as hyper as Ambipom can get, I'm having second thoughts," Dawn said.

"What about Buneary or Pachirisu?" Ash asked.

"I think Pachirisu is still a little shy about being up on a stage being watched by other people. I'm not sure about Buneary, though. I know Mamoswine isn't suitable for a contest," Dawn said.

"Yeah, and with both its size and weight, it might break the stage," Ash stated.

"That's true. Or I could use Piplup," Dawn said.

Their food then arrived for them and the two of them started to eat. Once they were done, Ash paid the bill and they checked the time.

"We should be heading for the contest soon," Ash said.

Dawn just nodded and they two of them started to walk towards the contest stage. Upon arriving, the two of them saw a lot of people already sitting down and others going to the back of the stage.

"Looks like we got here just in time," Ash said.

"Yeah…" Dawn said, a little nervous.

Ash saw this and placed a hand on Dawn's shoulder, causing her to blush slightly and look up at him.

"It'll be okay, Dawn. Remember, there's no pressure. It's just for fun," Ash said.

"Right," Dawn said.

The both of them grinned.

"No need to worry," the both of them said in unison, then they laughed.

"I'll be cheering for you, Dawn," Ash said.

"And I'll be sure to put on a big show," Dawn said.

Ash, holding the bag with Dawn's new dresses, then walked away to find a good seat while Dawn went to the back of the stage with the other contestants to get ready.

'_I wonder who Dawn's going to use and what combinations they'll put together,_' Ash thought to himself as he took his seat.

The contest was very much the same as the one held yesterday, all the contestants using small, cute or beautiful Pokémon. But there were a few who were using small/medium-sized Pokémon with incredible strength, such as Machop, Hitmonchan, and others. When it was Dawn's turn, she sent out Ambipom and did an amazing combination using Swift, Double Team, and Double Hit. **(A/N: Again, I apologize for not going into very much detail. I suck when it comes to large details and descriptions)** When the contest was over, Dawn's clever combinations got her a victory over the other competitors. The young girl just jumped and squealed for joy before meeting up with Ash backstage.

"Very impressive, Dawn," Ash said.

"Thanks, Ash. Though it was kind of hard to get Ambipom to do those combinations when we didn't have any time to practice," Dawn said.

"It just shows how good of a coordinator you are, being able to think up combinations on the spot," Ash complimented.

Dawn blushed slightly as Ash looked up at the sky.

"Seems like we should be heading back soon," Ash said as he looked at the position of the sun, which was just about to set over the horizon.

"Yeah. But I have to admit, I had a lot of fun, Ash," Dawn said as she smiled.

Ash smiled back at the blue-haired girl and the two of them headed back towards the Ketchum residence. Once they got to the front door, Dawn took her dresses out of Ash's hands.

"Thank you, Ash. I really had fun today," Dawn said.

"You're welcome, Dawn," Ash said.

The two of them then walked into the house and closed the door behind them.

"Welcome back you two," May said as she saw Ash and Dawn walk in.

"I hope you didn't do anything stupid, Ash," Misty said, giving the raven-haired boy a mischievous glare, to which Ash just glared back.

"No, it was actually a lot of fun," Dawn said.

"We were also hoping you didn't do something crazy, Dawn. You did seem kind of hyper this morning," May said.

"And just what's that supposed to mean?" Dawn asked in an irritated tone.

May and Misty just laughed as Brock walked from the kitchen.

"You're just in time. Dinner will be ready in a few minutes," Brock said.

"Alright," Ash and Dawn said at the same time.

Dawn went upstairs to put her new dresses away as Ash went and sat in the kitchen, waiting for dinner. After dinner, everyone went to their rooms and both Misty and May asked Dawn what she and Ash did for the day while Ash sat on his bed.

'_So tomorrow's the big day. Now I have to make my choice, and I know who it is I really want to be with. I'll talk to her tomorrow and tell her my feelings,_' Ash thought to himself.

Pikachu then ran into Ash's room and jumped on his bed.

"Pikapi, pika chu?" the yellow mouse asked, which roughly translated to "Ash, you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, Pikachu," Ash said as he pet Pikachu's head.

Pikachu smiled as he was being pet and then went to lay down somewhere while Ash laid on his bed after closing his bedroom door.

'_I just hope she feels the same way about me, though. I'll be a bit awkward if she rejects me,_' Ash thought to himself. '_Guess I'll just have to find out tomorrow._'

Ash then drifted off to sleep as he thought about tomorrow.

* * *

**A/N: So there you have it, Ash's day with Dawn. It seems Ash has already chosen who he wants to be with, but no name is given. Nor WILL a name be given. You'll all have to wait until the next chapter to find out since it's THE final chapter. Anyway, time for the hint I promised back in chapter 3. The hint is: Ash will be forced to fight a rival as he's about to make his confession to the girl of his choice. I'll leave you readers to guess who the rival is, and thus who Ash picked. I won't spoil anything further. Again, I don't want any whining or complaining about who I had Ash pick. I picked it about a month ago and I'm staying with it since I've already finished the chapter. I hope you all enjoyed reading my fanfic so far and I hope you enjoy the ending, despite who Ash picked.**

**Please R&R**


	5. Ash's Decision

**A/N: Alright, here it is. The final chapter. First, I want to apologize to those of you who have been reading my fanfic, liked it, and couldn't wait for more. Some of you have taken guesses as to who Ash picked and who the rival is. I will say that in terms of the rival, all of you are wrong (not to be rude). But for the girl of choice, some of you are correct. But to find out what really happens, you'll just have to read through. Also, all the text below that is underlined is for a dream/nightmare scene which takes place for Ash. I know most people use Italics for dreams/nightmares, but I wanted to try something a little different since I use Italics for thoughts or emphasis purposes. I hope those of you who have been following my fanfic enjoy this final chapter.**

**Disclaimer: I hold no ownership to Pokémon.**

* * *

-Chapter 5: Ash's Decision-

Ash found himself standing in a dark room and he looked around, but couldn't see anything.

"Where the heck am I?" Ash asked himself, his voice echoing in the endless void.

Then three people appeared in front of him. Upon closer inspection, Ash knew who the three figures were.

"Misty. May. Dawn. Where the heck are we?" Ash asked them.

"Ash, there's something we need to tell you," May said.

"Huh? What is it?" Ash asked, wondering what they'd have to say.

"We've already found someone to be with," Misty said.

Ash just stood there, wide-eyed and frozen.

"Wh-what?" Ash asked in disbelief.

Just then, three more figures appeared. One beside Dawn, one beside May, and one beside Misty. Ash couldn't believe his eyes.

"I'm actually with Paul, Ash," Dawn said, and the figure standing next to her changed into Paul, the purple-haired boy giving Ash an evil glare.

"And I'm with Harley," May said while the figure standing next to her became Harley, wearing his green cactus outfit and smirking at Ash.

The young raven-haired boy then turned to Misty.

"Misty…" Ash said softly.

"Sorry Ash, but I couldn't wait for you any longer. While you went off in Sinnoh, I went to the Orange Islands and got together with Rudy," Misty said and the figure standing next to her changed into Rudy, the Gym Leader of Trovita Island, as he flicked his hair and grinned at Ash.

Ash just stood there in shock. How could this be happening? Were they just leading him on? Letting him spend time with them only to knock him down? Ash then looked up and saw all six of them walking away from him.

"Wait! Come back!" Ash called out as he ran after them.

But it seemed as though no matter how fast he ran, the raven-haired boy couldn't catch up with them. The six fleeting figures then vanished in the darkness and Ash fell to his knees, tears streaming down his face.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" the young trainer yelled at the top of his lungs.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Ash yelled as he shot upward, but then stopped himself as he looked at his surroundings.

He was back in his room.

'_Was it all… just a dream?_' Ash thought to himself.

Sweat poured down his face as he held his head in his hands.

'_More like a nightmare,_' Ash continued his thought.

He then heard a knock at the door and heard a voice from the other side.

"Ash? Are you okay, honey?" the voice asked, which was a feminine voice, and Ash knew exactly who it was.

"I'm fine, mom," Ash answered after calming down.

"Alright. Breakfast is on the table. Come down when you're ready," Delia said from the other side of the door before walking away.

Ash then just fell back onto his bed.

'_That was one heck of a crazy nightmare,_' Ash thought to himself as he looked up at his ceiling.

The images of the three girls walking away with Paul, Harley and Rudy were stuck in his mind.

'_I just hope it isn't true,_' Ash thought.

Ash then got up, got dressed, and then headed downstairs for breakfast where the others greeted him.

"Morning sleepy-head," the three girls Ash spent a day each with said, nearly in unison.

Ash just scratched the back of his head and greeted them a good morning before sitting down to eat. Pikachu came running down the stairs out of Ash's room for some food as well, which Brock made some Poké-food especially for the electric mouse. Once breakfast was over, the three girls went into the living room and started to chat again while Ash sat at the kitchen table still, watching the girls.

'_Okay Ash, don't chicken out. This is your only chance,_' Ash thought to himself as he swallowed a lump in his throat.

The young raven-haired boy then stood up and walked over to the girls, making them stop their conversation and look up at the boy. Having all three girls look up at him made Ash's face turn slightly red.

"Um, Misty? Would I be able to talk to you for a bit?" Ash asked, stuttering a little bit.

Misty then turned to face May and Dawn, her face turning a light pink, then looking back up at Ash.

"Sure," Misty said as she stood up.

"Pikachu, let's get going," Ash called out to his Pokémon.

Pikachu ran over to Ash and jumped on his shoulder. The three of them walked out the front door.

"What is it you want to talk to me about, Ash?" Misty asked.

"First, could you come with me somewhere for a bit? I'll talk to you once we get there," Ash answered.

"Um, okay," Misty said, not sure what Ash was up to.

Ash then led Misty away from the house, Pikachu still on his shoulder. Several minutes of walking later, Ash led Misty to a small hill just a little outside the town before he stopped, causing Misty to stop behind him.

"Ash? Is something wrong?" Misty asked.

Ash just stood there as he started building up courage. He then turned around to face Misty.

"Misty, there's something I've been wanting to tell you. I wanted to say it for a while, but at the time I didn't know it," Ash said, his face slowly turning red.

"Ash…" Misty said softly, her face turning pink.

"Misty, I just wanted you to know tha--" Ash said, but was cut off by a squawking sound before he could finish.

Both Ash and Misty looked up and saw something flying towards them.

"What's that?" Misty asked.

Ash's eyes widened as he saw the figure flying at them. It had been 6 years since he last saw it, but he knew what it was.

'_No. My nightmare isn't coming true, is it?_" Ash thought to himself as he took a small, unnoticeable step back.

As the figure got closer, it was clear that it belonged to a Pidgeot. But this one was larger than a normal Pidgeot, and Ash knew who it belonged to. Once the bird Pokémon was close enough, a person jumped off of Pidgeot's back, returning it to its PokéBall as the person landed. The person had auburn-colored hair and a somewhat fancy dance suit on. It had been 6 long years, but Ash recognized who it was, and so did Misty after seeing the person stand up.

"Rudy…" Ash said quietly to himself.

"Why hello there. It's been a while," Rudy said as he looked at Ash and Misty.

"Rudy? What are you doing here?" Misty asked.

"Well, I was actually starting to get a little worried about you when I didn't hear that you and little Ash here got together yet," Rudy said, causing Ash and Misty to blush a bit.

"But that doesn't exactly answer her question, Rudy," Ash said.

"Heh," Rudy scoffed, flicking his hair. "I came to take Misty to Trovita Island."

"What?!" both Ash and Misty yelled in surprise.

"That's right. I want her to live there with me. Mahri's still upset that you decided against staying. So to make her, and myself, happy, I promised her I'd bring you there," Rudy said.

Ash then stuck out his arms, as if to protect Misty.

"She didn't want to stay with you back then. What makes you think she'd want to go with you now?" Ash asked.

"Well, I have a little idea then," Rudy said. "How about you and I have a battle?"

"A battle?" Ash repeated.

"That's right. One-on-one. And whoever wins gets Misty," Rudy said.

Ash then gritted his teeth.

"No way! Misty's not some trophy or prize to be won! I won't do it!" Ash spat at Rudy.

"Ash…" Misty said as she looked at the two boys.

"Are you just saying that because you know you won't beat me?" Rudy taunted.

"You say that even though I beat you and even got your badge to prove it?" Ash taunted back.

"That was 6 years ago. And even back then I beat you with one of my Pokémon. I've gotten a lot stronger since then. So unless you battle me, I'll just take Misty to Trovita Island," Rudy said.

Ash just growled a bit, glaring at Rudy.

"Fine…" Ash said. "If you want a battle, I'll give you one."

"Ash, wait," Misty said.

"Don't worry. I won't let him take you if you don't want to go," Ash said to the red-head.

"Oh Ash…" Misty said quietly and softly, placing one hand on her chest and slightly blushing.

"Let's see what you've got then," Rudy said.

"You said one-on-one, right?" Ash asked, wanting to clarify what Rudy said earlier.

"That's right," Rudy answered.

"Alright then. You pick yours first," Ash said.

"Very well," Rudy said as he flicked his hair.

The auburn-haired boy grabbed a PokéBall and threw it.

"Get ready for battle, Electivire!" Rudy called out.

The PokéBall opened and a flash of white light flooded out of the ball, materializing into an Electivire.

"What the? An Electivire?" Ash said in shock.

"That's right. After our gym battle all those years ago, I've been training even harder than usual. And it just so happened it caused my Electabuzz, which beat your little Pikachu, to evolve into Electivire and it became even stronger," Rudy explained.

"Pika pika!" Pikachu shouted, electricity sparking from its cheeks.

But before Pikachu could charge in, Ash stopped it by raising his hand.

"No, Pikachu. He's right. That Electivire beat you when it was an Electabuzz. I don't want to take the chance of him taking Misty, so I need to use someone else," Ash said quietly to his Pokémon.

Pikachu then nodded, earning a laugh from Rudy.

"What's wrong? Are you going to quit?" Rudy asked tauntingly.

"Of course not. I just have someone else I'd rather use against you," Ash said.

"Then show me what you've got," Rudy said.

Ash then grabbed a PokéBall off his belt, which he had brought all his Pokémon with him, and threw it towards Rudy's Electivire.

"I choose you, Gliscor!" Ash called out.

The PokéBall opened, pouring out white light that materialized into Ash's Gliscor.

"Gli gliscor gli," Gliscor said.

"Heh. Choosing a Flying-type against my Electric-type was a bad move on your part, Ash," Rudy said.

"We'll see about that," Ash grinned.

"I'm going to end this with one attack. Electivire, attack with Thunder Bolt!" Rudy ordered.

The Thunderbolt Pokémon did as it was told and charged up the electric attack.

"Gliscor, take to the air!" Ash told his Pokémon.

The Fang Scorpion Pokémon nodded in understanding and used its tail as a spring to launch itself into the air.

"Electivire, re-direct your attack and hit that Gliscor!" Rudy ordered.

Electivire obeyed and fired the Thunder Bolt upward, striking Gliscor. Rudy smirked as he watched the airborne Pokémon get zapped, but his smirk faded when he saw Gliscor wasn't taking any damage.

"What the heck? What's going on here?" Rudy asked in confusion.

"Gliscor isn't just a Flying-type, Rudy. It's also a Ground-type, meaning your electric attacks won't work," Ash stated.

"What?!" Rudy said in shock.

"Now Gliscor, attack with X-Scissor!" Ash commanded.

Gliscor then dove down as its claws started to glow and it crossed them into an X shape.

"Electivire, counter with Thunder Punch!" Rudy ordered.

Electivire charged electricity into its fist and, right when Gliscor was right in front of it, threw its fist forward and punched Gliscor's claws. Unfortunately, all it did was delay Gliscor's attack a little as Gliscor pushed through and hit Electivire dead-on, sending it back a bit.

"It's not over yet, Ash. I had Electivire learn an attack while it was still an Electabuzz just in case something like this happened," Rudy said.

"Say what?" Ash said in surprise, thinking that there was no way Electivire could have an attack that could beat Gliscor.

"Electivire, attack with Ice Punch!" Rudy commanded.

Ash's eyes widened as he heard Rudy call the attack.

"Gliscor, get away from it!" Ash told his Pokémon.

Gliscor tried to jump out of the way, but Electivire hit Gliscor and froze part of its tail.

"No, Gliscor!" Ash called out.

"Finish it, Electivire!" Rudy commanded.

"Gliscor, take to the air!" Ash ordered.

Electivire charged ahead for another attack, but Gliscor jumped just in time to evade it.

"Alright Gliscor, let's finish this. Hit it with Guillotine!" Ash told the Fang Scorpion Pokémon.

Gliscor opened one of its claws as it started to glow, then the Pokémon dove down towards Electivire as fast as it could. Ash knew that if this attack hit, Electivire would be instantly knocked out.

"Electivire, jump back and then attack with Ice Punch once it lands!" Rudy ordered, earning a gasp from Ash.

Electivire jumped backwards from where it was standing. Ash knew it was over now since Guillotine could only travel in a straight line. Gliscor smashed into the ground with its claw and Electivire charged ahead while the Fang Scorpion was stuck. The Thunderbolt Pokémon then threw its fist forward, connecting the Ice Punch right into Gliscor's forehead. Electivire then jumped back and Gliscor began to be sealed in ice.

"No, Gliscor!" Ash called out.

"Looks like I win," Rudy said. "Good job, Electivire. Now return."

Rudy returned the Thunderbolt Pokémon to its PokéBall and then smirked at Ash as the raven-haired boy tried to get Gliscor out of the ice.

"You lost, Ash. That means Misty comes with me," Rudy stated.

Ash then glared at Rudy, but knew he was right. By accepting to battle the auburn-haired gym leader, he accepted to the deal that whoever won got Misty.

"Hold it right there, Rudy!" Ash heard a voice from behind him.

Ash turned around and saw the voice came from Misty herself.

"I didn't stay on Trovita with you 6 years ago because I didn't want to. And I still don't!" Misty told the Trovita gym leader.

"What? Even after I proved I'm stronger than him?!" Rudy asked, pointing at Ash.

"Strength isn't everything, Rudy. I don't care if you're stronger than Ash, I'm not going with you," Misty said.

"Misty…" Ash said quietly as he stared at the red-haired girl.

Rudy then laughed quietly as he slowly walked towards Ash. Ash turned around and saw Rudy walking to him, then glared at the auburn-haired boy.

"Whoa, hold it. I only wanted to give you something," Rudy said as he reached into his pocket and pulled out some kind of medicine.

"What is that?" Ash asked.

"It'll help defrost that ice a lot faster," Rudy said.

Ash looked confused at Rudy and then took the medicine from the Trovita gym leader. Ash then sprayed it on Gliscor and the ice around it quickly vaporized.

"You okay, Gliscor?" Ash asked.

"Gliscor!" Gliscor started to cry as it looked at Ash.

"It's okay, you tried your best," Ash said. "Now how about you have some rest?"

Ash then returned Gliscor to its PokéBall after it cheered up and hugged Ash. The young trainer then stood up and looked at Rudy.

"Ash, I told you this 6 years ago, but I think I should say it again. You're a very lucky guy, Ash," Rudy said.

Ash then smiled at Rudy.

"I know what you mean now, Rudy. Thanks," Ash said and the two of them shook hands.

"Well, I hope to see you two some time. Stop by Trovita when you have the chance," Rudy offered.

"Right," Ash said and Misty just nodded.

Rudy then brought out his Pidgeot, got on its back, and flew back towards Trovita Island.

"So Ash, what was it you were going to say before we were interrupted?" Misty asked.

Ash then turned to face Misty with a smile still on his face.

"Well, I just wanted you to know that, after all this time, after all we been through in our travels, I've finally been able to sort out my feelings, but then I ran into a bit of an obstacle," Ash said.

"Was that what the last few days were for?" Misty asked.

"Yeah. Misty, I never said what I'm about to say for two reasons. First, I was too dense and too young. Second, I didn't know how you'd react. But now, I don't care. I want to tell you," Ash said.

"Ash…" Misty said softly.

"Misty… I love you," Ash told her.

"Oh Ash…" Misty said as she blushed and her eyes started to water.

"But if you don't feel the same way, I'll understand. I just wanted to tell you after so long," Ash said, but was then hugged by Misty with her arms wrapped around his neck.

"I love you too, Ash. I've wanted to hear you say it for so long," Misty said as tears fell down her face.

"Misty…" Ash said, but then he wrapped his arms around her waist, hugging her tightly.

But then they slowly pulled away and Ash wiped the tears from Misty's eyes.

"But I have to admit, it wasn't one of those love-at-first-sight things. We've been through so much and I got to know you more and more. You're a very caring person, Misty," Ash said.

"It was the same for me. At first I thought you were just some dumb annoying kid. But you've always been so kind towards others as well as Pokémon. Even those that weren't your own," Misty said.

The two of them look into each other's eyes, but then Misty thought of something.

"Wait a minute, what about May and Dawn?" Misty asked.

"Well, you see, I love them too," Ash started, earning a glare from Misty. "But not the same way I love you."

"Oh? How so?" Misty said, now getting a little angry.

"Well, for May, it's kind of a mentor-pupil thing. When I met her, she was just starting out. So I was teaching her how to catch Pokémon and other stuff. So it's kind of a mentor-pupil respect thing we have," Ash said, not sure if he worded what he said correctly enough.

"Oh. But what about Dawn?" Misty asked.

"I love her too, but more like the younger sister I never had. I mean it, Misty. I love you more than anyone else," Ash said.

"Oh Ash," Misty said.

The two of them drew closer and closer until their lips met and kissed each other softly. They slowly pulled away as their faces turned bright red.

"Oh wow," Misty said softly as she put her fingers to her lips.

"Yeah. That was actually better than I thought it would be," Ash said.

"Yeah," Misty said in agreement.

"So, Misty--" Ash started, but was cut off.

"Please Ash, you can call me Mist if you want. I actually like it when you call me that," Misty said as she kept blushing.

"But I only said it once before," Ash said as he remembered three days ago at the beach.

"I know, but it sounded really nice when you said it," Misty said.

"Alright Misty. I mean Mist," Ash said as he chuckled a bit, causing Misty to giggle.

"So what are you planning now?" Misty asked.

"I'm actually thinking of taking on the Pokémon League again," Ash answered.

"Oh," Misty said and looked away in disappointment.

"But Mist, I want you to come with me," Ash said.

"I don't think I can, Ash. After all, I have to look after the gym," Misty said.

"Then why not have your sisters take over?" Ash asked.

"If only it were that easy. They'd rather do their swimming shows than anything else," Misty answered.

"Well, then we'll just have to get them to be the gym leaders that they should be," Ash said.

"But Ash, what makes you think they'll listen?" Misty asked, concerned.

"You can tell them that you're done being a gym leader and then you and I can teach them how to be better gym leaders," Ash answered.

"I don't think it'll work, Ash," Misty said.

"If we work together, I know we can think of something. No one's ever been able to beat us when we worked together before, right?" Ash asked as he smiled at Misty.

"Right," Misty said as she smiled back.

"But you know, looking back, I guess I really was stupid," Ash said.

"Yeah, you were, actually," Misty giggled.

Ash just sweatdropped.

"But what I mean is, the day that you left… I really didn't want you to go, but my idioticness got the better of me," Ash admitted.

"Yeah. And I was actually going to tell you how I really felt that day, too. But then my sisters called and everything went downhill," Misty said.

"Yeah. And after seeing your bike fixed, which is why you---"Ash was about to say, but quickly shut up.

He looked at Misty and he saw the same old angry glare in her eyes. Even though it had been 7 years, Ash knew he had said the forbidden B word in front of Misty.

"Speaking of which, you still owe me a new bike, Ash Ketchum!" Misty yelled at him.

"Hold on, hold on. If I win the Pokémon League, I'll get more than enough money to get you a new bike," Ash said as he held his arms up defensively.

Misty's glare then softened and she smiled at him.

"Then you better win. Cause I'll be going with you and cheering you on all the way," Misty said softly.

"I will Misty, that's a promise," Ash said and the two of them kissed each other again.

By the time the Indigo Plateau Pokémon League started up again, Ash and Misty were able to convince Daisy, Lily and Violet to become serious gym leaders. The two of them then went to the Indigo Plateau, where Misty watched and cheered for Ash's victory, while forcing him to wear his Sir Aaron costume since she admitted he looked really nice in it. This time around, Ash won the Indigo Plateau championships and got both the trophy and prize money. The first thing he bought with the money was a brand new bike for Misty, which happened to make her nag at him a little less. After that, Ash convinced Misty to go with him to Johto and Hoenn so he could have another try at those championships, which he won because now that he had Misty, Ash believed he really could do anything. As for May and Dawn, May got together with Drew and Dawn hooked up with Kenny, much to the relief of Ash that the rest of his nightmare wasn't true.

* * *

**A/N: Well, there you have it. The end to my first fanfic. I will admit some parts might be a little out of line (thought that's just my personal opinion. if you readers liked it, then it's fine with me) but I think it was an overall good plot, having Rudy be the rival. The reason for picking him is because he's the only guy Ash met that wanted Misty to live with him (which I'd take as being his girlfriend or even marrying him). Also, at the end, some of you may have noticed I had Dawn and Kenny be together. I did this because I personally despise Paul. And so far Kenny is the only one who shows even mild interest in Dawn. Also, at the top during the nightmare scenes, I put in Paul, Harley and Rudy as pairs for the girls in the nightmare because I think they'd be the WORST pairings for the girls. Rudy and Harley are kind of a given since they have no titled shipping for the paired girls in the nightmare (at least from what I've tried to search and haven't found) and, as mentioned before, I dislike Paul. Anyway, enough of my rant. I hope you all enjoyed my fanfic. I'll try to make others if I can come up with any ideas, though I do have a one-shot InuYasha fanfic up somewhere.**

**Please R&R**


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